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The other day the kids were dying for some yogurt and I was just not feeling like heading to the store so what did we do… made our own. We made our own yogurt all summer but with the lack of fresh berries we pretty much stopped but I found some raspberries from my parents house in our freezer and the kids were so excited. They love building their own and experimenting with different flavors. I love that my kids are eating a healthy snack.

On this particular day we had some of besties over for snack and they enjoyed their own creations too.

Set everything out in different bowls. I scoop the yogurt into each kids bowl because their eyes are always bigger than their tummies and then let them go to town and put whatever they want. Make sure you don’t forget honey though It’s the best part. and the add yumminess of cinnamon.

I love granola. I LOVE granola! It’s so good. However oats are not currently in my diet right now. Sad but I have been seeing recipes out there for paleo granola and then I ordered some paleo krunch cereal and I loved it but it’s a little (lot) out of my price range so I figured I could make some and save some dollars. I tweaked and tweaked until I got the right combination but I am but out a small disclaimer.

1: Paleo granola is expensive to make since it has tons of nuts and higher priced ingredients in it.

2: Paleo granola is highly addicting causing it to last only a few days and then you are wanting more. Lots more.

3: Paleo granola is high in nuts so a little goes a long way.

After a few months of eating it I now allow myself a handful a day. Sometimes two but at first I was eating 1 -2 bowls a day. It is that good so try it and tell me what you think.

Paleo Krunch Cereal

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/4 c honey

1/4 c pure maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c. raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 c. raw sunflower seeds

1 c. almond flour

1 c. unsweetened coconut

2 c. raw chopped almonds

2 tbsp ground cinnamonPreheat oven to 325 F Whisk first 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Add all dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Combine well. On a baking sheet with small sides spread a thin layer of the mixture. Place in oven for about 10 minutes take out and mix around a bit and place back in oven for another 5-10 minutes. You just want it toasted, once it looks nice and toasted take out and let cool for 5 minutes. I keep it in an air tight container in the pantry.

This is one of the most requested breakfasts at our house. Orange pancakes. The kids and I love them and my husband says they are the best paleo pancakes I have made which is awesome. *Note He still loves my old buttermilk pancake far better but those only come out on super rare occasions.

Since going Paleo in September I have been looking for a good pancake recipe because they are a weekly staple in our house. I had tried them with almond flour and coconut flour but for me they consistency wasn’t great. I tried the all banana recipes and it was overwhelming for us. So one day I tried sweet potato puree and banana and it was great. To make them a little more pancake looking I make this in my food processor. You could do it in a blender or by hand but make sure you really mash the sweet potatoes and bananas or you’ll have chunks in your pancakes. I like to make a double batch and the leftovers are great for on the go snacks.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

This recipe feeds my family of 2 adults and 2 little kids. You can easily double this recipe but if you double it I would only do 6 eggs.

1/2 c. sweet potato puree

1 ripe banana, mashed (2 Tbs.Real Maple syrup)

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon (or more depending how much you like cinnamon)

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. melted ghee, coconut oil, or butter Plus some for greasing the griddle or pan.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash a sweet potato and poke it all over with a fork. Put in the oven and bake til done. Depending on the size it can take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour. Take out of oven and let cool.* I usually cook a couple and puree them and freeze the puree so I can whip these up quick.

Preheat griddle to 375 degrees and grease. Once cool take the sweet potato, cut it in half and scrape the insides out into a food processor and puree til smooth. You’ll need a half cup of puree. You can freeze the rest for later. Blend or whisk the sweet potato, banana, eggs, and vanilla together til smooth. Add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, salt, and melted oil and blend til well mixed.

Once the griddle is heated pour batter onto griddle. Let cook for a few minutes. I wait until bubbles have formed and pop to flip them. Then cook the other side. Serve.

My family likes them with maple syrup. I love them with homemade almond butter and sliced bananas. Leftovers? Freeze them and they reheat really well.

I’ve been eating them mashed, diced, fried, and noodled (is that a word?). They are amazing. Every Monday I julienne two and par cook them in the microwave and stick them in the fridge to use whenever I want.

Lately I’ve been melting some coconut oil and adding some spices and frying them up. So good. Try it.

Sweet Potato Fries

1/2 cup julienne sweet potatoes, par-cooked

1-2 tbs coconut oil

cinnamon

cumin

salt

Heat up the coconut oil in skillet over med-high heat. Take sweet potatoes and toss them in a bowl with the spices til well coated. Dump in skillet and let cook. This is the hardest part just let it cook. Don’t meed with it for a few minutes. then rotate. Do it til all sides are cooked. Throw on to a plate and dig in!

Jerky can be expensive and full of not great things. Because of that I have been wanting to make my own for about a year but I was crazy intimidated. That was until I got the book Eat Like a Dinosaur for Christmas (Thanks to my amazing hubby) Guess what!! It had a jerky recipe in there. I read through it and it sounded pretty basic but I was still skeptical. Probably the whole dehydrating meat thing freaks me out a bit but I persevered. I am so glad I did. It was good. My kids loved it. I loved it. My hubby loved it but I like mine a little smokier so I set out to create a recipe all on my own.

I started with the basics and picked what spices I knew would go together. This was the best part and also kind of spendy. I did really small batches but it still adds up. Finally my daughter said that it tasted like the jerky I bought last year for our trip to my parents and I knew I had got it right.

Now I have read about doing flank steak but it scares me. I have only used a london broil. I went to my butchers and found the leanest cut there and then bought another because we stinkin’ love jerky at this house.

Smokey Homemade Jerky

This recipe makes a decent amount of jerky. You can half or even quarter it to suit your needs. Also you can dehydrate in an oven but I haven’t tried it.

4# london broil

1 c coconut aminos

1 T. liquid smoke

1 T. chili powder

2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. smoked paprika

dash of cayenne

Take your meat and cut it in to 2″x3″ chunks and stick in the freezer for a couple hours. When ready slice with the grain 1/4″ thick. I used my meat slicer and it was super easy.

Take a big bowl that has a lid or a ziploc bag or a tupperware container. What ever you have on hand that also seals well and mix the rest of the ingredients in it. Toss in the meat and then I get my hands in there and make sure it is well coated and combined. Stick it in the fridge to marinate for 8-24 hrs flipping the container every few hours. Then take it out and you can either pat it down a little with a paper towel or stick it right on the dehydrator trays. Run your dehydrator overnight and check them. I pull them when there is not moistness on the outside. Let cool and then throw them in a ziploc bag and store in the fridge or in the pantry but there are no preservatives so they will spoil if left too long in the pantry. Enjoy and tell me how you like it or give me ideas to change it a bit.